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Small checks fuel big role for tea party

The tea party wants to turn its grassroots energy into cash, much like Obama did in 2008. |
Reuters
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The Tea Party Express has spent much of the year promoting candidates who also received the endorsement of former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who sits atop one of the other groups created with conservative grass-roots energy.

SarahPAC was launched with an e-mail request for donations. At the end of September, the SarahPAC had raised $5 million, of which $3.6 million came from small donors who gave less than $200, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Tim Crawford, the treasurer of the committee, said it raised $1.2 million between July and October from 22,000 donors who gave an average of $50.

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“I think there is just as much excitement on our side this year as there was on their side two years ago,” he added.

Another outlet benefiting from the conservative small donor surge is the Senate Conservatives Fund, a committee founded by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

While most leadership committees such as DeMint’s are used by members to finance their own travel or pet projects, DeMint decided to revamp his so that it operates as a funnel for conservative donations just as ActBlue and Emily’s List move liberal money.

According to Matt Hoskins, a spokesman for the committee, the fund is on track to raise $10 million from about 35,000 donors. The bulk of that money is earmarked for delivery to a roster of candidates endorsed by DeMint, including some of the tea party candidates.

“President Obama spearheaded the online giving and did it very successfully in 2008,” said Hoskins. “Senator DeMint wanted to invest in it because he thought there was a lot of potential there.”

To be sure, Republicans are essentially playing catch-up to a well-developed fundraising operation that’s already part of the Democrats’ arsenal.

ActBlue, a major conduit for liberal small donors, is funneling in more cash into the 2010 midterms than it did during the 2008 presidential race, when it raised $63 million. Since Oct. 1 alone, ActBlue has distributed about $13 million to candidates from more than 127,000 small liberal donors.

Emily’s List, which also funnels donations to candidates, said its online donor base of 28,000 is twice as big in 2010 as it was in the presidential campaign.

But Hoskins and the other conservative leaders say the 2010 experience for small donors, many of whom are first-time givers, will prime them for the 2012 presidential campaign.

However, Hoskins and other conservative PAC leaders are still skeptical about whether the Republican Party and its eventual presidential nominee will be able to harness its energy and vitality for their own.

They aren’t alone. When the same question was put to a long-time Republican fundraising expert, he was equally equivocal: “Maybe, maybe, maybe. I think these people really want to maintain their independence.”

While the tea party movement prides itself in its leaderless quality, the rise of DeMint and Palin as kingmakers means that each have their own ambitions.

Russo, a former supporter of President Ronald Reagan who also worked on the 1992 presidential campaign of Ross Perot, has seen the downsides of a personality-led movement.

Readers' Comments (517)

All thanks to Jeanne Cummings who developed her ability to "follow the money" many years ago. Here she shows the value of the internet, which makes donating so easy and spontaneous and of organization. Without an organization, people yell at their TV's but often fail to get involved. Americans are gregarious by nature. Although there was fear that we were becoming a nation of loners, that has not happened. The tea parties are proof.

If our tea parties continue to put their money and their effort behind candidates, they will take over the GOP, and that would be a good thing. All organizations of human beings are in constant need of reform. The GOP is badly in need; the tea parties showed up just in time.

October 29, 2010 The Cook Political Report's pre-election House outlook is a Democratic net loss of 50 to 60 seats, with higher losses possible. A turnover of just 39 seats would tip majority status into Republican hands. The midterm maelstrom pulling House Democrats under shows no signs of abating, if anything it has intensified.

A big thank you to Barack Obama, Michelle, Rahm, Axelrod, and all their liberal friends! Obama has motivated the conservative movement like no one else in history. He will go down as the father of the conservative movement; he brought them back from the dead. Way to go, we love the "change we can believe in". Keep'em coming...

Poor tea party dupes are sending in their hard-earned money in order to be water boys and cheerleaders for corporations that have already taken the wealth of their wages, already taken their jobs, half their life savings, and maybe their homes. Now tea partiers are out there rallying corporations to take more from the family purse for our richest family members and to take away new and old health and survival insurance in the forms of healthcare reform, Medicare and Social Security. Tea partiers claim they want to take their country back, but back from foreigners? No, they want to take it back from fellow Americans, like President Obama (and pretend he's a foreigner so their racism and anti-American spirit won't be quite so blaring). They want more "freedom," which will mean more freedom for corporations to underpay workers, fire them without cause, set prices on all things (decided by corporate cartels), and do all things unencumbered by irritating laws and regulations that protect American consumers and keep the playing field somewhat level. Most tea partiers, it seems, lack either awareness or self-esteem.

Poor tea party dupes are sending in their hard-earned money in order to be water boys and cheerleaders for corporations that have already taken the wealth of their wages, already taken their jobs, half their life savings, and maybe their homes

Bingo.

All while taking their fear and anger out on the ONE thing that is trying to save their sorry butts from the corporate cancer infecting this country.

The Tea Party is actually proof that we've become a nation of selfish ignoramuses.

I see you are running with the DNC's latest talking point:

"Americans are throwing us out of office because they are stupid."

I'm not sure it's going to win Democrats any votes.

I just find it hilarious that Democrats have been talking American's heads off about how great their agenda is, but when it gets rejected, they completely refrain from discussing it anymore and simply go with "You are stupid."

Poor tea party dupes are sending in their hard-earned money in order to be water boys and cheerleaders for corporations that have already taken the wealth of their wages, already taken their jobs, half their life savings, and maybe their homes. Now tea partiers are out there rallying corporations to take more from the family purse for our richest family members and to take away new and old health and survival insurance in the forms of healthcare reform, Medicare and Social Security. Tea partiers claim they want to take their country back, but back from foreigners? No, they want to take it back from fellow Americans, like President Obama (and pretend he's a foreigner so their racism and anti-American spirit won't be quite so blaring). They want more "freedom," which will mean more freedom for corporations to underpay workers, fire them without cause, set prices on all things (decided by corporate cartels), and do all things unencumbered by irritating laws and regulations that protect American consumers and keep the playing field somewhat level. Most tea partiers, it seems, lack either awareness or self-esteem.

I doubt that a more powerful recruiting script for the Tea Party could be drafted. Your incomprehension is complete. The Tea Party is, first and last, about self-reliance and responsibility. Tea Party voters expect government to live within its means and, to the maximum extent possible, leave them alone.